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The Second Coming of Indie Gaming

Players PnlyThe biggest moneymakers in the gaming industry may still come from companies like Blizzard, Microsoft and Rockstar, but the most-buzzed-about titles come from the little guys. And the future belongs to them. In this week’s episode of Players Only, Scott Steinberg explores the teeming underground of indie game developers.

“Indie gaming is on such an upswing right now,” says Associated Press writer Artie Lang. “People are interested in so many quirky different weird new games that the market is huge.”

And networks like WiiWare, Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network are making it easier and easier for people to get their fix. “There are so many different avenues that weren’t open to us when we first started,” says Brian Raffel, co-founder of Raven Software. “I think we’re going to see a lot of great stuff coming out.”

Players Only also explores how developers even go about defining an indie studio, what gives them their flare, and even addresses some of the skepticism surrounding indie games.

Digital Trends’ video series Players Only debuted last year, earning critical acclaim by offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the video games industry, through the eyes of the people running it. The new season runs August 17 through September 28, with new episodes debuting ever Monday. Garage Days 2.0 is available immediately.

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